Friction-clutch



L u e h S e e h s 2 N I.. Lw HT GU Mm Lm nU .Mw .M Pn... Tu. m d o M o W Patented Mar. 25, 1890.

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Y 2 y J. F. MGLAUGHLIN.

PRIGIION CLUTCH.

' No. 424,341. Patented M41. 25, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,341, dated March 25, 1890. Application iiledaanuary 8, 1890. Serial No. 836,247. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it' may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES F. MOLAUGHLIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of friction-clutches in which a number of shoes mounted upon a loosely-rotating part of a machine is caused to transmit motion to another part of the machine by frictional contact therewith, and the object of my invention is to so improve these clutches that the shoes will be moved positively7 and will be held in iirm contact with the machinery to which they are designed to transmit motion, and all pressure or strain on the shifting-lever and all liability of disengagement of the shoes are avoide( It is also the object of my invention to so construct the parts as to compensate for wear, whereby the effectiveness of the clutch may be indefinitely maintained.

To enable those skilled inr the art to which my invention appertains to understand and practice the same, I will now give a detailed description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of a friction-clutch embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation on the line 00,'Fig. 1, certain parts being removed to expose the friction-shoes and accessory parts; Fig. 3, an end viewV of the shifting mechanism with the shaft of the machine in section; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the shoe-carrier; Fig. 5, an elevation of the shifting-collar, and Fig. 6 an elevation of a part of an electric locomotive with my improve ment applied thereto.

The shaft l, which isldesigned to drive 'the machinery to which my improvement is 4ap*- plied, has keyed upon it the clutch-carrier 2, the same consisting of a central hub 3, from which extends a wide liange 4, from one face of which rise a series of spacingblocks 5. The adjacent sides of these spacingblocks are parallel to each other, so as to leave guide passages or channels 6 between them. The

sides of these channels being parallel, the

spacing-blocks are not, strictly speaking, segmental or sectoral in outline, and for convenience of description they will hereinafter be referred to as spacing-blocks simply. The flange et has also formed in it a number of elongated perforations or slots 7, one in each guide passage or channel, and these slots are undercut at one end on the face of the flange opposite to that from which the spacing-blocks risc, as indicated at 8. Upon this flange 4: are seated thc clutch-shoes 9, which in general outline are T-shaped, as shown in Fig. 2, having a central rectangular shank lO and a segmental head 1l, whose bearing-face is curved upon a circle described about the axis of the hub and whose radius is equal to the radius of the interior bearing-face of a flanged gear or pulley 12, loosely mounted upon the hub 3 of the shoecarrier. This gear or pulley 12 is constantly rotated by the prime motor of the machine, and the purpose of my improvement is to transmit the motion of this gear or pulley as occasion requires to the shaft l.

The shanks 10 of the clutch-shoes are received and are guided in the channels 6, while the heads 11 are turned outwardly, as shown. As will be noticed by reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the heads of the clutch-shoes are extended beyond the shanks, on each side of the same, in two planes, so that these clutch-shoes appear T-shaped both in face view and in radial section. The object of this double T-shaped formis to provide an extended bearing-face for the heads of the clutch-shoes. The length of each shank 10 is such that when in place in a guide passage or channel 6 its inner end will extend over and entirely cover the slot 7 in said guide-channel.

The inner end of each shank 10 is formed with a rib 13, riding from its exposed face, so that between said rib and the lateral extension of the head of the shoe beyond the shank on the same side there is formed a groove, and when all the clutch-shoes are in position these grooves collectively form an annulus for the reception of an annular guapdplate 14E, screwed or otherwise fastened to the spacinghblocks 5.

The inner end faces of the shankscl() are beveled and curved so as to form concave conesnrfaees, as shown in section in Fig. 1

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and indicated by appropriate shading in Fig. 2. From each shank extends a pin 15 into the corresponding slot 7, and a helical spring 16, secured at one end to said pin and at the other end in the recess formed by the undercut portion 8 of the slot, tends to draw the clutch-shoe inwardly.

The loose gear or pulley 12 is recessed on one side to such depth and width that when said gear or pulley is in position upon the hub 3 the flange 4 and the spacing-blocks 5 of the shoe-carrier, together with the clutchshoes mounted therein, willbe housed in the said recess, with the heads of the clutch-shoes close to but not touching the inner bearingface 12 of the gear or pulley; but when, by means presently to be described, the clutchshoes are forced outwardly against the action of the springs 16 intimate frictional contact will be established between the bearing-faces of the clutch-shoes and the inner bearingface of the gear orpulley 12, so that when the latter `is, rotated it will in turn rotate the clutch-shoes and all the parts connected therewith, and consequent-ly the shaft 1, which then transmits motion to the machinery to be driven.

As a protection to the parts housed within the recess in thegear or pulley 12 there is a cover17, as shown in Fig. 1.

The shifting mechanism whereby the clutchshoes are made to engage the inner bearingface of the gear or pulley 12 is also mounted on the shaft. There is a sleeve 18 loose on the shaft, with an arm 19 extending from one end of said sleeve into a fork 20, formed in a bracket 21, fixed to the frame of the machine, whereby the sleeve 18 is prevented from being` rotated with the shaft. The arm 19, however, is armed at its free end with an anti-friction roller 22, in order to ease the slight longitudinal movement of the sleeve 18, which cannot entirelybe avoided by the fixed collars 23 24, provided for this purpose.

The sleeve 18 is screw-threaded on its outer surface, as shown, and screwed upon this sleeve is the shifter 25, consisting of a diskshown.

In one position of the shifter 25 upon the sleeve 18 the conical sleeve 28 extends between the conical surfaces at the ends of the shanks 10 such a distance that under the action of the springs 16 the clutch-shoes will be drawn inwardly, with the bearing-faces of their heads out of contact with the hearingface 12 of the gear or pulley 12, but with the conical surfaces at the ends of the shanks bearing upon the conical sleeve 28. (This position is indicated in Fig. 1.) If, now, the shifter be turned so as to partially unscrew it from the sleeve 18, the conical sleeve 28 will be forced inwardly between the ends of the Shanks 10, and will force the bearingfaces of the shoes into frictional contact with the inner bearing-face of the gear or pulley against the action of the springs 16. Thus it will be seen that a slight turn of the shifter is sufficient to clutch the shaft 1 to the gear or pulley 12. lVhen the shifter is turned as j ustdescribed, there willbe an endwise thrust 'of the conical sleeve 28 upon the shifterl and of the sleeve 18 upon the collarl 23, and in order to avoid undue friction at these points ball-bearings 29 and 30 are provided, the former between the end of the conical sleeve 28 and the shifter, and the latter between the sleeve 18 and collar 23. Upon the disk portion of the shifter is formed a neck 31, which receives a ring-lever 32, from which an operative arm 33 extends, and which is designed to be actuated through theinedium of a link or pitman 34 from a distant point of the machine, as indicated in Fig.. 6. This ring-lever is held upon the neck- 31 by aringwasher 35, screwed down upon the shifter by screws 36 or otherwise. A number of holes 37 are arranged circumferentially in the rim of the shifter, and corresponding holes-38 are formed in the ring-washer 35, while a single hole 39 formed in the ring -lever may be brought in alignment with the holes 37 38, when the ring-lever is fixed in position upon the shifter by a bolt 40, which passes through the three holes in alignment.

For convenience of operation it is desirable that the arm 33 of the ring-lever should always bc in the same position relative to the other parts of the machine when the clutch is loose, so that there must be provision for maintaining that position, notwithstanding the wear at the bearing-faces of the clutchshoes from continued use. The arrangement of the circumferential holes 37` 38 and the hole 39 in the ring-lever affords the necessarymeans of adjustment for wear, for if by suchy wear a limited movement of the ring-lever from its normal position should become in sufficient to produce the clutching operation,` it is onlynecessary to withdraw the bolt 40 and then shift the ring-lever backward until the hole 39 is in alignment with another pair of holes 37 38, when the bolt is again inserted and the original normal position of the arm 33 of the ring-lever may be rca-established. The operating link or pitman 34 is connected with the ring-lever at the outer end of the arm 33 by means of an eye 41, provided for this purpose.

In Fig. G I have shown my improvement ap= plied to an electric locomotive, in whichl the armature of the electric motor is provided with a pinion 42 meshing with thel gear 12. It is designed in this connection that the electric motor should run continuously, and it IOO IIC

will therefore aetuate the gear 12 continuously, which running loose on the hub 3 will not propel the vehicle until after the clutch is operated by the link or pitman 34, it being understood that the shaft 1 is connected by intermediate gearing with the Wheel-axle.

My present invention is not limited to its application to an electric locomotive, and it is therefore not deemed necessaryto describe the latter in detail. It will also be understood that by means of my improved frictionclutch motion may be transmitted from the shaft 1 to the gear or pulley 12 instead of, as has hereinbefore been assumed, from gear or pulley 12 to .the shaft.

In the drawings I have shown the structure marked 12 as a skew geanwheel, but it will be understood that it may be an ordinary gear-wheel or asimple pulley.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A friction-clutch consisting, essentially, of an idle-gear, clutching-shoes mounted in operative relation to the gear, and each having one end beveled, and a shifter provided with a loosely-rotating beveled sleeve constructed to be -moved against the beveled ends of the shoes and force the latter into engagement with the said gear, substantially as described. Y

2. In a friction=clutch, the combination of an idle-gear, clutch-shoes in operative relation thereto, and a power-transmitting shaft to which the shoes are connected, with a shifter on the shaft for forcing the shoes into contact with the gear, and ascreW-feed for the shifter consisting of an internally-screwthreaded hub formed on the shifter, and an externally-screw-threaded sleeve mounted on the shaft and locked against movement thereon and entering the screw-threaded hub on the shifter, substantially as described.

3. In a frictionclutch, the combination of an idle-gear, clutch-shoes in operative relation thereto, and a power-transmitting shaft to which the shoes are connected, with a screwfed shifter for forcing the shoes into engagement with the gear, and arlever for controlling the shifter and adjustably connected thereto, substantially as described.

4. In a frietionclutch, the combination of an idle-gear, clutch-shoes in operative relation thereto, and a power-transmitting shaft to which the shoes are connected, with a screwfed shifter for forcing the shoes into engagement with the gear, provided with an annular seat and perforated iiange, and a ringlen ver fitted to the seat on the shifter and provided with a perforation for the passage of a securing-bolt matching any one of the perforations in the flange of the shifter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my Iname to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES F. MCLAUGIAILIN. Witnesses:

I-I. F. REARDON, WILsoN R. Kun, 

